


Close comfort

by Bellmel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27226534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellmel/pseuds/Bellmel
Summary: Harry has returned to Muriel’s house with the Weasleys after the battle. But he can find no comfort in the house that is filled with noise and overpowering emotion. He has to get away from it.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Close comfort

It was all so much. Too much. The incessant talk was overwhelming, only outdone by the moments of heavy silence that spoke volumes, suggesting words that couldn’t be formed and thoughts they didn’t dare speak.

And yet despite this, it wasn’t grief that had a stranglehold over the house and its occupants. Its powerful presence certainly made itself known, but there was a shared relief, a sense of disbelief that the war was over, which challenged the utter dominance of even this rawest of grief. But in this house, at this time, Harry found the strange mix of emotions unsettling.

There was no escape inside Muriel’s house, with people spilling out into each room. Just hours after the war was won, it was still not safe to return to the Burrow or to Grimmauld Place. Harry had arrived here with Ron and Hermione after resting at Hogwarts, and instantly questioned his place here, with those grieving a brother, a son. Yet he had nowhere else to go, and the realisation stung. 

“I’m going outside for some fresh air,” muttered Harry as he walked past Ron towards the back door. Ron and Hermione shared a quick look and followed him out.

He sat heavily on the back step, breathing in deeply. He had felt an eerie sense of peace in his moments at Kings Cross with Dumbledore, and he found himself longing for that calm now.

“I used to hate coming here when we were younger,” said Ron as he walked over to stand next to Harry, leaning against the railing for support. “It gives me bloody nightmares being back here again.”

“It shouldn’t be for long at least,” said Hermione, sitting down on the grass across from Harry. “I heard Charlie say that he was meeting a couple of people from the Ministry at the Burrow first thing tomorrow to make sure it’s safe.”

“Merlin, to think I could be sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night,” said Ron wistfully.

“Come on Ron, it’s not like we were roughing it at Shell Cottage,” said Hermione.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just not the same though, is it.”

“No, I guess not.”

They talked for some time, about nothing in particular. Not for the first time in recent days, Harry felt a rush of gratitude for his two friends. They were his refuge, they expected nothing of him in this moment. But he knew they had a role to play now, a duty to their families – Hermione to bring hers home, and Ron to comfort and grieve with his. What was Harry’s role now? He had never allowed himself to consider a future beyond Voldemort, to do so would have been selfish and foolhardy. But now the thought of ‘what next’ plagued him. He had nowhere to go, nothing to do and no one to be. He felt that old familiar feeling of loneliness begin to take root.

They heard the back door open gently, and all three looked up. Ginny tentatively stepped out, closing the door behind her.

“Mum noticed you lot were missing. She’s starting to worry that you’re making more plans to slink off again.”

“Not bloody likely,” muttered Ron. “I’ve had enough mushroom stew for a lifetime.”

Ginny screwed her nose up. “Is that what you really ate? No wonder you’re all so skinny now.”

“We did eat other things,” replied Hermione. “Ron liked to complain though, but he never volunteered to find any food himself.” She directed a pointed look towards Ron.

“No, I bet he didn’t. Too hangry to have a go at foraging for himself, no doubt.” Harry and Hermione gave a hint of a smile at the truth in her words, while Ron stuck his tongue out.

“I’d like to have seen you do any better,” he challenged.

“I can be resourceful when I need to be. Although I think it’s safe to say I couldn’t have done any better than Hermione.”

Hermione sighed, and looked up at Ron. “We should probably go back in, I don’t want to upset your mum.” Ron held out a hand to help her up, and she dusted herself off as they walked back inside the house.

Ginny didn’t move. “Are you up for some company, or do you want to be alone?”

Harry didn’t reply. Instead, he shuffled across to the edge of the step, indicating for her to sit next to him. They sat together in silence for some time, before Ginny leaned back on her elbows, stretching her legs out, and looked up at the clear night sky. “It seems so surreal, all of it,” she said eventually.

“Ginny, Fred… I’m so sorry.”

“So am I,” she sighed.

“I keep thinking…”

“Don’t,” she interrupted forcibly, sitting up. “Don’t take on the blame, as if you had a role in it. Harry, this wasn’t your war, it wasn’t your fight. You didn’t have a say in it, and you couldn’t have done any more than you did.” She said it without pity, and he was grateful – he didn’t want her pity.

“You must be looking forward to going back home again soon,” said Harry after some time.

“Yeah, I am, but it’s going to be strange. You’ll be coming back too, won’t you?”

“I guess so, I don’t really have anywhere else to go, do I.” he muttered, dragging his foot in the dirt as he spoke.

“You know you belong with us Harry, don’t you? You’re part of our family too. But not in a creepy brotherly sort of way,” she was quick to add. “I don’t want to freak you out and ruin any chance I have with you.” She gave him a gentle smile as she spoke.

Harry tilted his head towards her. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Good, otherwise I might have had to kick you out of the family.” Harry laughed softly.

“Anyway, it would be cruel to deny mum the chance to fuss over you and try and fatten you up. It will be a kind of therapy for her.”

That sat together in silence once again. It was an easy silence. There was so much they needed to talk about, but right now, there was no need for any of it. She asked him no questions, and he found comfort in this gesture of understanding. 

“I missed you, Ginny,” he said with a sigh. “What I wouldn’t have given these past few months to have been sitting here with you instead.”

She linked her arm through his and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re here now,” she said. “And this time I’m not letting you go.”

They sat there together for some time, taking comfort in the quiet, the solitude, and the warmth of each other. Her presence was steadying, grounding, and he felt the cacophony of noise in his head begin to subside. For the first time he started to believe that maybe he did belong somewhere. And perhaps, just perhaps, he was going to be ok after all.


End file.
